Dale Williams, a 24-year NFL head linesman and College World Series baseball umpire, passed away September 18, 2022, after a long illness. He was 82. Williams had a sparkling officiating career at a high level in two sports. He officiated NFL football from 1980-2003, and umpired college baseball for 32
Author: Mark Schultz
Mark Schultz is a high school football official, freelance writer and journalist. He first became interested in officiating when he was six years old, was watching a NFL game with his father and asked the fateful question, "Dad, what are those guys in the striped shirts doing?"
Week 6 photo album, 2022
2 generations of officials are at polar opposites when signaling the big call
A few weeks ago, our own Cam Filipe posted his Call of the Week, and he noted the calm, under-control signal by the covering official. https://twitter.com/footballzebras/status/1572626534661341184 "This isn't the 1980s," Cam noted. I resemble that remark! But it did cause me to reflect on how officials signal a call and how the
Week 5 photo album, 2022
Week 4 photo album, 2022
Football officials free to leave the field when the game is over
The end of this week's Monday Night Football game featured some angry moments as both teams came together to shake hands at the end of a hard-fought game. https://streamable.com/6a966d While plenty of media reported the incident, you'll notice the officials were nowhere to be found. That's because the officials' responsibility ends the moment
Week 3 photo album, 2022
Week 2 photo album, 2022
Officiating in the rain is mind over matter
The Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers played in wet, sloppy conditions at Soldier Field during Week One. While it was fun to play in (especially for the winning Bears), the officials had to push it out of their minds. Water, water everywhere https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1570417595869794306 Officials can power through drizzle or mist, but when
